Power and subjectivity in leadership and management : an ethnographic study of the school management team in a South African school.

Abstract:

1994 was a watershed in the history of education in South Africa. The post-apartheid
government was faced with a large number of schools that were dysfunctional, especially black
secondary schools in urban areas (Fleisch, 2004). Schools were in greater need of effective
leadership than ever before. Since the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, there have
been increasing demands on education leaders and managers. School leaders have been toted
repeatedly in the media and literature as the key drivers of change. Studying school leadership
is thus indeed an imperative, and the question to answer is not whether but how. This study
uses ethnographic techniques to explore ways in which leadership is experienced in a school
by individuals and groups through interactional events. Initial enquiries thrown up by this
include: What best practice models could be revealed from a prolonged stay in the research
field? What new leadership vocabularies permeate the educational space and what do these
reveal about leadership practice? Given the political changes in South Africa, how has
leadership evolved?
This thesis presents an ethnographic portrait of a functional school in South Africa and focuses
specifically on providing an analysis of how discourse, power and ethics are central to
individual subjectivities of school leaders and managers by addressing the following critical
research questions: (i) What are the leadership discourses in a school setting?; (ii) How do
power and subjectivity play out within daily interactions of the school management team
(SMT)? The concepts of surveillance, gaze, normalisation, and discourses throw new light on
the discipline and practice of leadership and management, exposing their power relations’
pervasive effects in shaping the ethical decisions made. Without critical reflection and
attention to power relations, school management could easily become inward looking and give
inadequate attention to parents, learners and other stakeholders.
The thesis concludes by drawing out four significant findings on the practice of leadership and
management: (i) discourses shed light on institutional practices and the working of power; (ii)
building social capital is an essential part of effective leadership; (iii) in an organisation such
as the school, individuals are placed in a matrix of power relations; and (iv) schools advance
iii
the concept of moral ecology through the subjectivities and ethical actions of collective
leadership of the school and community.
Key Terms:
Power relations, leadership, discourse, subjectivity, ethics, ethnographic techniques.